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A major step has been taken in the privatization of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), as the transaction agreement for the airline’s acquisition was formally signed in Islamabad on Wednesday.
The signing ceremony brought together top leadership, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, alongside representatives of the Arif Habib Consortium, which will now take over management of the national carrier.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated the nation on the occasion, recalled that PIA reached its zenith in the 1960s and expressed full confidence that the new management would restore the airline to its former glory.
“Today, the PIA privatization agreement has been signed. I believe PIA’s first priority will be the comfort, dignity, respect, and safety of its passengers,” the Prime Minister said, recalling the airline’s golden era in the 1960s.
According to Muhammad Ali, the government’s Privatization Advisor, the total transaction involves an investment of Rs 180 billion (approximately $650 million). Of this, Rs 125 billion ($450 million) will be injected directly into the airline for fleet expansion, service improvements, and modern management practices, while Rs 55 billion ($200 million) will be paid to the government.
The Prime Minister concluded the ceremony by evoking PIA’s famed slogan, “Great People to Fly With,” expressing confidence that the airline would once again become a symbol of national pride.
